Power plant.



C. B. NAGELMANN.

POW E R. PLAN T.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 19. I917.

WIIIIIIIJ v m rlll l Ill Patented J 11110 11, 1918.-

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llllll WITNESSES A TTORNEYS GLEIMIEIWS B. NAGELMANN, OF CARNEYVILLE, WYOMING.

POWER PLANT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 19, 1917. Serial No. 207,883.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLEMENS B. NAGEL- MANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Carneyville, in the county of Sheridan-and State of Wyoming, have invented a new and Improved Power Plant,

of which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

My invention relates to compressed-air power plants particularly adapted for'u'se in connection with motor-driven vehicles. The invention is characterized by the .provision of a multistage compressor actuated from an internal-combustion engine in which the active cycles are only expansion and exhaust, the intake and compression cycles being part of the work done by the multistage compressor. The invention 1s also characterized by the utilization of heat generated by the internal-combustion engine for preheating the compressed air charge before it is passed through the air motor.

The invention is further characterized by the provision of an air motor of the multistage t pe so arranged that the successively expan ed air utilized in the successive cyl inders is preheated before it enters the cylinder in which it is to act, so as to'reduce the loss of energy due to the reduction of temperature by expansion of air in doing the work.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and flexible power plant.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the inventionconsists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of the application, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both views.

Figurev 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a power plant embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a section showing the detail valve arrangement of the internal-combustion engine used in connection with my power plant for driving the air compressor.

Referring to the drawings, 3 and 4 are the cylinders of the compressor, which for convenience are shown opposite one another, the cylinder 3 being of a larger diametcr than the cylinder 4, for the air is in- 1t 1al ly compressed in said cylinder 3. The air inlet to said cylinder from the atmosphere is controlled mechanically through the medium of a valve 5 operable from a cam shaft 6. The outlet valve 7 from said cyllnder 3 .leads into a coil 8. 'The said valve 7 is also operated from the same cam shaft 6, which shaft is driven from the crank shaft 9 from which the pistons of the compressor are operated. The coil 8 leads to the inlet valve 10 of the cylinder 4. The

i said coil 8 is a cooling coil which is intend- .the cylinder 4, so that the compressed air entering the cylinder 1 may be at or even lower than the temperature of the atmospheric air. The outlet valve 11 of the compressor cylinder 1 leads to a conduit 12 which is connected to a reservoir 13, prefer ably partitioned into two sections 14 and 15, the cylinder lt-being in communication with the compartment 14. The two valves 10 and 11 of said compressor cylinder 4 are operated from a cam shaft 16 driven from the crank shaft 9.

The crank shaft 9 is also the crank shaft of an internal combustion engine, the cylinders 17 of which are each provided with an explosion chamber 18. (See Fig. 2). Each of said chambers has a valve 19 controlling the inlet thereto from a conduit 20 which.

leads to a carbureter 21 which is in turn connected to the conduit 12, preferably in proximity to where said conduit joins the cylinder 4, so that the compressed air from the cylinder 4 is partially directed through the carbureter to deliver a charge of fuel mixture to said explosion chamber 18. carbureter 21 is also connected to a supply of fuel 21'.

A spark plug is provided in each of said chambers to ignite the mixture shortly before the inlet valve 23 to the corresponding cylinder is to be opened by the cam shaft 16 which also operates the valve 19. The exhaust of each cylinder is controlled by a corresponding valve 21 also operated from the shaft 16. One of the exhausts of the cylinder 17 is connected to a coil 25 within the compartmcnt'l l, and the other exhaust Patented June 11, 1918.

The i to a similar coil 25 in the compartment 15. Both of these coils exhaust into a common conduit 26 leading to the atmosphere. This circulation of the exhaust charg through said coils 25 supplies the heat in the reservoir l3 and serves to preheat the air charges in the chambers 14 and 15.

The intake valves 30 and 33 of cylinder 27 are connected by a conduit 32 to the compartment 14 and opened alternately. The outlets of these two cylinder sections are opened alternately by valves 31 and 34 and the exhaust passes through a conduit 35 to the compartment 15. The inlet and outlet valves are controlled from cam shafts 36 each operable from a crank shaft 37 which is driven by the air motor.

The cylinder 28 has intake valves 39 and 42, both connected by a conduit 38 to the compartment 15, said valves being operated alternately. The outlet from each of the cylinder sections is controlled by valves 40 and 43 respectively, both discharging into the atmosphere. The valves 39 and 40 are operated from the lower cam shaft 36, and the valves 42 and 43, from the upper cam shaft 36.

The compressed air entering the compartment 14 is heated therein by the exhaust gases so that the temperature of the compressed air is raised. In consequence, during the workof the compressed air coming from the compartment 14 to the cylinder sections of the cylinder 27, the heat conveyed to the compressed air will be utilized to compensate for the expansion during the work, so that comparatively no energy of the compressed air will be used up by the expansion of the compressed air doing the work in said cylinders 27. Similarly, the air returned from the motor cylinder 27 to the compartment 15 is again heated so as to impart to it sufficient heat to reduce or entirely eliminate loss by expansion of the air in the motor cylinder 28.

The cylinders of the internal-combustion engine and those of the air motor are jacketed, and the jackets of the internal-combustion engine are-connected in series with the jackets of the air motor. The cylinder walls of the air motor will be much cooler than the cylinder walls of the internal-comcooling medium. To prevent over-heating in certain cases a radiator 44 may be provided through which the cooling medium may be circulated in addition to circulating it through the jackets of the air motor.

The crank shaft 37 is coupled to a driving shaft 45 from which motion is imparted to the vehicle. The speed is controlled by shifting the cam shafts 36, whereby the opening of the valves operated by said shafts is controlled.

I claim:

1. A power plant comprising in combination, a multistage compressor, means for cooling the compressed air during the successive stages of its compression, a reservoir for the compressed air, an internal-combustion engine for actuating the compressor, means separating said reservoir into two independent compartments, heating coils in said compartments, means for uniting said coils to the exhaust of the internal-combustion engine whereby said compartments are heated, a multistage air motor, means connecting the cylinders of said air motor to the compartments of the reservoir, and motion-transmission means for said motor.

.2. A power plant comprising in combination, a two stage air compressor, a coil interposed between the cylinders of the compressor to cool the charge, a reservoir adapted to receive the compressed charge from the compressor, means for heating the reservoir, means for actuating the compressor, a multistage air motor having two double-acting cylinders, means connecting the smaller cylinder to the reservoir, 2. second reservoir adapted to receive the air after the same has done its work in the smaller double acting cylinder, means for heating said second reservoir, andmeans connecting said second reservoir to the second double-acting cylinder of the air motor.

. 3. A ower plant comprising in combination, a ouble-acting air compressor, a cool- .ing coil between the cylinders of the compressor so as to reduce the temperature of the compressed charge, a reservoir having two compartments, a conduit connecting the compressor to one of the compartments, a heating coil in said compartment, an internal combustion engine for actuating the compressor, means connecting the exhaust of said internal-combustion engine to the heating coil, a multistage air motor having a pair of double-acting cylinders, a conduit connecting the smaller cylinder of the motor to the compartment into which the compressor discharges, a conduit for returning the air from said smaller double-acting cylinderto the second compartment, a coil in said second compartment connected to the exhaust of the engine, a conduit from said second compartment to the second doubleacting cylinder of the motor, and means for transmitting motion from said air motor.

loo

v 4. A power plant comprising in combination an internal-combustion engine the cylinders of which are provided with a valvecontrolled chamber, an air compressor driven by the engine adapted to supply a compressed fuel charge to said chamber, means for igniting said charge in the chamber, means for delivering the ignited charge to the cylinders, a reservoir for the compressed air, means in the reservoir connected to the exhaust of the engine for heating the air in said reservoir, and an air motor to be driven by the preheated air from the reservoir.

5. A power plant comprising in combination an internal combustion engine each cylinder of, which has a chamber, a compressor driven by the engine, a carbureter interposed between the compressor and the chambers whereby compressed fuel charges may be delivered to the chambers, a reservoir for compressed air, means in the reservoir connected to the exhaust of the engine for heating the air in the reservoir, and an air motor adapted to be driven by the air from the reservoir.

6. A power plant comprising in combination an air compressor, an internal-combustion engine for driving the compressor, an air motor to be driven with the compressed air from the air compressor, the cylinders of the engine and the air motor being jacketed and interconnected so that the coolingmedium circulates through the jackets of the engine and motor.

7. A power plant comprising in combination an aircompressor, an internal-combustion engine for driving the compressor, an air motor to be driven by the compressed air, the cylinders of the engine and the motor being jacketed, said jacketed cylinders of the engine being connected in series with the jacketed cylinders of the motor so that a cooling vmedium is caused to passsuccessively through the jackets of the engine and the motor.

CLEMENS B. NAGELMANN. 

